The following email is from Jeff Henderson of the FOR Company. What Jeff shared made me stop and think, and that is why I share it with you today.
This is good stuff. It can be applied to almost any one, not just your pastor. But you can understand why it catches my attention. Read on…
Last year, I received a 14-paragraph email from a couple upset about an email I had supposedly sent out regarding a current social topic. They said they were considering leaving the church but wanted to see my response before officially deciding.
The only problem was I had no idea what they were talking about. I asked if they could forward to me the specific email they were referencing.
A few minutes later, I received a two-sentence apology. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the email was sent from a local magazine not our church. The email font “looked like the Church’s."
So, if you’re keeping score: The first email threatening to leave the church was 14 paragraphs. The second email with the apology was two sentences.
Look, I’m not saying churches and pastors should be free of corrective feedback. But I do think, before someone emails their pastor they should consider a few points before hitting send:
When’s the last time you sent an email encouraging your pastor?
When’s the last time you prayed for the pastor, their marriage and family?
When’s the last time you posted on social media expressing gratitude for what the Church has done for you?
Is what you’re sharing helpful or just critical?
What have you done specifically to show the pastor you are FOR them?
Are you more of an encourager or a critic of the local church?
Again, I’m not suggesting pastors and churches should only be praised and never criticized. We can all get better.
And yet, the stories I hear from pastor friends of mine are very discouraging. For example, as churches re-open pastors can’t win on the mask issue.
If they require masks, people get mad. If they don’t require masks, people get mad.
It’s a no-win situation.
How are we possibly going to reach people with the love of Christ when we’re more mad at each other than grateful for one another?
Today, how about we try a different approach? How about taking a few minutes right now to email your pastor with some encouragement and gratitude?
Not only will it make their day, it might make yours as well.
FOR you,
Jeff Henderson
https://theforcompany.com
Comments